Vinnie Paul, Legendary Drummer for Pantera & Damageplan, Dead at 54

Unexpected, to say the least. Now he belongs to the ages. Far Beyond Driven is my favorite album by them, and the solo in Floods is easily one of Metal's best solos. Phil must be a wreck.

 

Pantera was a force to behold. Those that didn't see them will never understand. One of Metal's top brother duos. On a side note, it's crazy how Dime was asked to join Megadeth, but wouldn't go if Vinnie wasn't given the gig as well.

 

I always thought Vinnie had a little more technique than most metal drummers and was quite underrated. Pantera was also my first gig.

RIP

 

Always loved his drumming and drum sound - one of the few bands to keep metal going in the 90-s. RIP

 

I hate this. R.I.P.

 

He was one of the best in my opinion.

 

Very Sad. RIP Vinnie.

 

I once met him and Darrell when they toured Europe and played nearby. They were great guys, I had a fun time with them.
Rest in Peace brother... Gone too soon.

 

Great snare sound.

 

Man, I didn’t see that coming at all, and I’ve been listening to some Pantera lately. I said this before somewhere, but groove metal can be a very hit or miss, but Pantera was a band that got it right, and while Phil and Dimebag were usually the ones that got the credit, Vinnie had a lot to do with that sound, just a really tight pocket player in the context of a metal, and very important in the studio environment as well, helping produce the records with Terry Date.
He reminds me of Alex Van Halen, in that both were the older brother to this beloved guitar hero who got overlooked despite their talent, and it’s clear they never really cared about that. They were just two brothers who loved their music and were so happy to get to do it for a living and that so many loved them was just icing on the cake. I’ll be honest, I’m not a Hellyeah fan. At all. But whatever, they’ve done relatively well, and it was just good to see him still playing music because I can’t imagine losing Dime, especially through such a horrible way, and witnessing it. Poor guy. May he Rest In Peace, and hopefully he is with his brother again.

 

Hard to wake up hearing the news about Vinnie. It really must have been painful for him to witness what happened to his brother Dime and continue on. I can only hope he is back jamming away with Dime wherever they are. I loved the chemistry they had as players and brothers, Musicman1998 summed it up quite well that he had a similarity to AVH. Certainly makes sense as Vinnie and Dime were huge Van Halen fans and Pantera always had that 'VH on steroids' style. He was certainly one drummer in the metal genre that had a great groove and played some really unique double kick patterns instead of the stereotypical typewriter beats most other drummers play. He will be missed, RIP Vinnie.

 

Terrible news... he was a great drummer : both powerful, fast & groovy. What an injustice !
RIP Vinnie .

 

Sad to hear this. When Metallica lost their magic in 91, Pantera took over as the of best metal band of the 90s.
Vinnie was a great drummer, very underrated. RIP Vinnie.

 

RIP.

 

Sad news indeed. I got into Pantera after seeing the videos for Psycho Holiday and Cowboys from Hell on Headbanger's Ball in the very early 90's. Stayed on board for the duration. Very strong set of albums from 1990 to 2000. Never really took to the material prior to that. Truly sad that half the band is now gone.

R.I.P. Vinnie

 

I regret never getting to witness Pantera live. The Paul family has given a lot to rock and roll, and I'll be forever thankful.

This is a sad day. RIP buddy. You were a fire-breathing beast!

 

Funny, I was listening to Power Metal this morning; not bad at all, pretty good slice of Priest-esque Metal. The first four defintely had problems but I don’t think they’re really anything to be ashamed of.

 

but how did he die?

 

Hopefully you don't think i was suggesting they were something to be ashamed of. Just not for me.

 

I'm curious … Did Vinnie Paul and Phil Anselmo ever mend the fences between them?

 

It happens.

 

usually when it's unsuspicious they just say, heart attack, cancer, blah blah....
why is this such a secret? is there more to it?
once upon a time, nobody kept these details, but now when someone dies, it becomes something else.

 

Damn. I was never much more than a casual Pantera fan (I lost interest in them after Vulgar Display...), but Vinnie always seemed like a cool guy and he could certainly crush those drums. R.I.P. sir.

 

My understanding is Phil tried to make amends and set things right these last few years, but Vinnie wouldn't ever have a bar of it. And now they'll never patch things up, not in this lifetime anyway.

 

WTF. to say seeing this is a shock would be the understatement of the year